The Union Ministry of Coal has initiated the process of auctioning 103 coal and lignite mines for commercial purposes. The tendering process conducted by the coal ministry, began on March 29, 2023, and the deadline for submitting Technical Bids for all the mines was 27 June 2023. On 28 June 2023, the Technical Bids, consisting of both online and offline documents, were opened in the presence of the bidders.
A total of 35 bids, comprising both online and offline submissions, were received in two tranches of the commercial coal mine auctions. Under the Seventh tranche, 34 bids were received for 17 coal mines, with two bids submitted only online. Seven coal mines received two or more bids, totalling 24 bids, while the remaining ten mines received single bids. Out of the 17 coal mines, nine have been partially explored, while the rest are fully explored. The cumulative peak rated capacity (PRC) of the fully explored mines amounts to 47.80 million tonnes per annum (MTPA). Sixteen of these mines are non-coking coal mines, while one is a coking coal mine.
In the 2nd Attempt of the Sixth tranche, five coal mines were put up for auction, and only one bid was received for a fully explored non-coking coal mine. The peak rated capacity (PRC) of this particular mine is 4 MTPA.
Furthermore, apart from private companies, five public sector companies have also submitted bids in the ongoing round of commercial coal mine auctions.
The auction process has attracted a total of 22 companies, including notable entities such as Agrasen Sponge, Bull Mining, Gangaramchak Mining, Gujarat Mineral and Development Corporation, Hindalco, Jindal Steel and Power, Mahan Energen, Nalwa Steel and Power, Nilkanth Coal Mining, NLC India, NTPC Mining, Nuvoco Vistas Corp, Odisha Coal and Power, Paras Power and Coal Benefication, Raigarh Natural Resources, Shanti GD Ispat and Power, Shri Bajrang Power and Ispat, Special Blasts, Srivan Khanij, Sunflag Iron and Steel, TANGEDCO, and Sri Avantika Contractors.
The bids will now undergo evaluation by a multi-disciplinary Technical Evaluation Committee. The Technically Qualified Bidders will be shortlisted to participate in the subsequent electronic auction, which will be conducted on the MSTC portal in the coming months.
